This invention relates in general to oxygen delivery systems, and more particularly to an oxygen delivery system that includes a nasal cannula having an ear hook slider and ear hooks for securing the nasal cannula at a desired position on a user.
Oxygen delivery systems that include nasal cannulas are well known in the art. Examples of such prior art systems include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,328,038 B1; 6,298,850; 5,682,881; 5,636,630; 5,438,979; 5,271,391; 5,117,818; 5,025,805; 4,836,200; 4,808,160; 4,753,233; 4,739,757; 4,699,139; 4,422,456; 4,406,283; 4,156,426; 4,106,505; 3,802,431; 2,868,199; 2,763,263: and 2,168,705.
While nasal cannulas are a convenient method of supplying a patient with oxygen enriched gases, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved oxygen delivery system that includes a nasal cannula that is easily adjusted for the comfort of the patient and that is not prone to falling off the face of the patient.
An oxygen-delivery system includes a nasal cannula having a pair of nasal prongs that may be sized in length for insertion into the nasal cavities of a user. The nasal cannula is plugged at its distal end with an elongated flexible ear hook that is adapted to be hooked over one ear of the user. A slider having another ear hook mounted thereto is mounted at about the proximate end of the nasal cannula that is adapted to be coupled to a low-pressure oxygen outlet. The other ear hook is adapted to be hooked over the other ear of the user in order to support the pair of nasal prongs in the nasal cavities of the user. According to the method of using the oxygen delivery system a user hooks the distal end ear hook over one ear, inserts the nasal prongs into his or her nasal cavities, and moves the ear hook slider to an adjusted position that allows the other ear hook to be securely hooked over the other ear of the user with the nasal prongs comfortably inserted into the nasal cavities of the user.